Team Info
Task Force: California Task Force 8 (CA-TF8)
Agency: Chula Vista Fire
Level: FEMA Certified
Search Dog Info
Breed: Belgian Malinois
Sex: Male
Born: January 16, 2020
Recruited from the Burbank Animal Shelter
Chester was surrendered with his littermate, Ursala, to the Burbank Animal Shelter in California after allegedly being found running in the street. Recognizing their toy drive, shelter staff contacted SDF. After viewing evaluation videos of the two pups, SDF recruiters conducted an onsite evaluation, and both were approved to enter our training program.
Once at our National Training Center, Chester, a sharp, fast, and fun-loving Malinois, established himself as a staff favorite. He was always eager to learn and applied himself diligently to training. Always thinking, Chester’s intelligence helped him excel in obedience and develop a methodical, detailed search style. During his downtime, Chester would charm everyone with his outgoing personality. He was a big cuddle bug who is always down for a snuggle. When meeting new people, he would sidle up to them and nudge their hands, soliciting affection.
On April 1, 2022, Chester was paired with his first responder handler, Engineer Daniel Thomas of the Chula Vista Fire Department and California Task Force 8 (CA-TF8).
Deeply influenced by his parents’ philosophy that the best way to show love for others is to serve them, Daniel has always loved serving people. Before becoming a firefighter, Daniel worked as a lifeguard and enjoyed the teamwork dynamic and the ability to help people in emergencies. From there, he was inspired to enter the fire service in 2000, joined his task force in 2004, and has been with them ever since. This is his first time stepping into the role of Canine Search Specialist.
Daniel was inspired to become a canine handler after deploying with his task force to Hurricane Katrina as a Rescue Specialist, where he experienced firsthand the tight bond Canine Search Specialists share with their partners. He heard about SDF from fire department colleagues and SDF handlers, Linda D’Orsi and Clint Schepe, and decided to apply.
Following their pairing, Chester returned home to San Diego with Daniel, and they began to train with their CA-TF8 teammates in preparation for certification with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Certification is required for a team to deploy on missions with their task force, and Chester & Dan achieved theirs in June of 2022, which is exceptionally fast!
One of Daniel’s favorite moments working with Chester was during their Certification Evaluation in Riverside, CA. He stopped Chester from jumping off a ten-foot drop and asked him to jump into his arms instead. Chester trusted Daniel to catch him and jumped. Daniel shared that it was not something they practiced or planned for but, like real-life deployments, you plan and train for one scenario and use other skills you picked up along the way.
The team has been able to put those skills to use in the community on one mission so far. On January 18, 2023, they responded to the site of a vehicle crash in Chula Vista where at least one person had been ejected from the vehicle and, unconscious, was unable to communicate to first responders if there had been a child in the back seat. Chester successfully searched the surrounding area and did not alert on additional victims, enabling rescuers to focus on the primary victim and clean up the crash site.
Chester and Dan continue to train with their team weekly in preparation for the next time a call comes!